Universal undertakes master plan

UNIVERSAL CITY - The 400-plus-acre NBC Universal property that is home to the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park, CityWalk and the conglomerate's movie and television studios could finally be poised for an evolution after more than a decade of false starts.

NBC Universal announced Wednesday that it is creating a long-term vision plan for its land, 270 acres of which does not have permanent use. It is expected to take four to six months to complete a vision being developed by Thomas Properties Group and Rios Clementi Hale Studios.

"This is really an exploratory process," Universal Studios President and Chief Operating Officer Ron Meyer said in an interview. "We decided we would open ourselves up to look at the possibilities, especially for the unused space."

The plan will evaluate four areas for the future of the property, including analyzing the practicality of adding residential, retail or production facilities to the studio backlot.

Meyer said that with 6,000 employees, and an additional 2,000 seasonal employees in the summer; office space at 99 percent occupancy; and sound stages 95 percent full, more developed space is needed.

"There's a growing need for flexibility and the ability for the company to grow and support its businesses," said Bob Hale, managing principal of Rios Clementi Hale Studios, which will lead the urban planning process and create a master plan for the property, which is on both city and county land.

Thomas Properties Group will focus on assessing Universal's studio backlot in addition to overall property integration including plans for the border of the property that is adjacent to the Los Angeles River.

"This is a very, very key piece of real estate," said James Thomas, founder of Thomas Properties. "I can't think of a more important undeveloped infill site in Los Angeles. It's a large, complex piece of land with a lot of challenges and opportunities."

Bruce Ackerman, chief executive officer of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley, said Wednesday that he is watching the developments unfold with hopeful enthusiasm.

"They have so much of an opportunity there," Ackerman said. "They could create an urban village in that setting that would be spectacular. If they do the right job, which I trust they will do, they could end up with a mixed-use project that could be a model for development for the future of urban California."

Residents in surrounding neighorhoods have been at this point before with Universal only to see projects stalled due to changing ownership and other snags related to traffic and noise issues.

This time around, NBC Universal is starting with a clean slate and discarding any previous development plans and meeting with various residents associations every three months or so to keep them informed.

"They have this huge amount of property that is totally unused and in this city, we know it's not likely to stay like that," said Polly Ward, past president of the Studio City Residents Association. "Any developments are going to have impacts. What we are going to be monitoring very closely are the mitigations."

Universal said the planning process will include the preparation of a full environmental impact report and a comprehensive public review process.

Patrick Garner, founder of the Toluca Lake Residents Association, was a major opponent of an earlier master plan for expansion of Universal's operations, but said he is listening with an open mind.

"If you assume they have to do something with that property, and I assume they do since it's a major corporate asset, their biggest issue is going to be traffic," Garner said. "They are going to have a lot of hoops to jump through."